Just when we thought downtown Los Angeles’s office market couldn’t get any better, Banc of California just took out an 11-year lease, ensuring one of California’s biggest banks will officially become a prominent feature with its name emblazoned on the city’s skyline for years to come.
Banc of California has committed to a strategically modest 40,000 square feet at Singapore’s previously declining ManuLife U.S. REIT’s 35-story office at 865 S. Figueroa Street.
Banc of California’s name will be replacing the existing logo from global asset management firm TCW on the north and south sides of the building. TCW, ever so graciously, is moving out of 189,000 square feet at the building at its lease expiration, leaving ample room for new aspirations.
Guiding Banc of California through this remarkable lease negotiation were the skillful representatives from CBRE—Jonathan Dezzutti, Jacob Bobek, and Blake Mirkin—who managed to secure the ultimate branding prize (the skyline name) for a deal size that wouldn’t have typically warranted it in healthier times.
“Expanding our presence in downtown demonstrates how committed we are to serving the greater LA market,” Jared Wolff, the bank’s chairman and chief executive, in a statement, seemingly undeterred by the current market sentiment.
This prominent branding arrives at an especially poignant time for Los Angeles, as the city gears up to host the World Cup in 2026 and the 2028 Olympics – ensuring Banc of California’s name will be seen by a global audience, and quite a few empty floors.
But is the DTLA commercial market getting better??
Downtown LA’s office market is famously facing some of its toughest challenges in decades, with vacancy hovering stubbornly around 22%, according to CoStar. Tenants have collectively given back about a million square feet of space over the past year, proving that, much like a diet, giving things back can sometimes be easier than taking them on. Just too many concerns around safety and sluggish leasing activity continue to weigh on the downtown Los Angeles area perhaps, yet, creating an atmosphere that some opportunity seekers might generously describe as “opportunity-rich.”
The Light at the end of the 3rd Street Tunnel…
While some firms are relocating to other Los Angeles office markets with stronger reputations and fewer tumbleweeds, a “resurgence” in downtown Los Angeles is being heroically driven by major tenants such as law firms, public agencies, and consulting firms, according to Nick Griffin, executive vice president of the DTLA Alliance, a business improvement district.
While across greater Los Angeles, office demand remains muted amid tech and entertainment job cuts, high unemployment, and persistently slow return-to-office trends, Downtown Los Angeles leasing activity did reach nearly 907,802 square feet in the second quarter, a dazzling 147% jump over the previous quarter, according to CBRE data, with the Consulate of India and KPMG among the brave firms signing big leases downtown in recent months. Still, it seems not everyone got the memo that “the office is back.”
Nationally, there are whispers the office market may be on the come up; in the third quarter, tenants occupied about 12 million more square feet than they gave up — marking the first net gain since late 2021. For DTLA, however, it’s still very much a waiting game.
Downtown, Downtown!
“We moved our headquarters to Los Angeles two years ago because we believe in this city and in the power of the entrepreneurs and businesses that call it home,” Wolff reiterated, standing firm on the conviction that a large sign can indeed inspire an entire city. Banc of California has been diligently growing its footprint in other major markets, proving that if you can make it in DTLA, you can make it… well, anywhere else. Earlier this year, the bank expanded its Beverly Hills office, adding signage to a landmark building at 9701 Wilshire Blvd. In June, it even relocated its New York corporate office to Park Avenue, perhaps to escape the persistent hum of opportunity.
Banc of California proudly holds the title of the largest independent bank based in Los Angeles and ranks third among banks headquartered in California. It operates full-service branches across the state, and also maintains a presence in Denver, Colorado, and Durham, North Carolina, along with regional offices nationwide.
While the bank’s existing downtown branch at the Wilshire Grand Center at 900 Wilshire Blvd. will mercifully remain in place, this new move signals a profound belief in the area. The constant spray of optimism and corporate anxiety accompanying this deal—and its prominent visibility—is precisely what the landlords and business groups were hoping for.
